Friday, 20 November 2015

Polar bear populations are likely to fall by more than 30 percent by around mid-century as global warming thaws Arctic sea ice, experts said on Thursday in the most detailed review of the predators to date.

The report, by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), estimated there are between 22,000 and 31,000 polar bears in the Arctic and said they will be increasingly vulnerable as their habitat shrinks.

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comments:

Even IUCN admits that the actual polar bear population trend is not known but still claims there is 70% chance that it will decline from the current high point. In their terms this leaves a significant possibility (about 30%) that the population will climb even higher.

Unfortunately that isn't alarming even for polar bears so the public message has to be massaged a little.

2 (3?) of the polar bear species are in decline. The others are stable or growing, in some parts of Canada they have become a pest.Lots of info here http://polarbearscience.com/2015/11/18/iucn-red-list-says-global-polar-bear-population-is-20000-31000-26500/